Sensational reporting

            We all heard this week about the massive snow storm that was supposed to hit the east coast. They were calling it massive, worst ever, and many many other adjectives. In the end as you know it was just a snow storm. Millions of people did not die. Electricity was not knocked out for two months. The army was not called in to rescue thousands. No, it was just another winter snow storm.

            One sign in New York said “OMG two feet of snow what will we do?” I’m old I get it. In my day as a young buck we had something that was called “the news.” It was when a person investigated a story about real events. Like I said I’m old. It appears today we don’t look into events, but instead we just grab headlines. I am beginning to wonder if people know how to report.

Lately I have heard about epidemic obesity. Does the writer even know what epidemic means? Do you remember H1N1? We were all encouraged to get vaccinated because this is going to kill millions. It appears the common cold killed more. Maybe the cold is an epidemic. Reporters use words in every headline like worst ever, epidemic, and state emergency. I guess the word “reporter” is the problem. We should change their name to something like a “Headline exploitive prognosticator.”

In a way we have caused this idiocy. The truth these days is called subjective. We love the point of view over reality. What I believe about something is my truth. What happens if I’m wrong? We don’t care about that anymore. The point is not wrong or right but preserving my truth. We don’t let kids lose anymore. We pass them all and give participation ribbons to everyone. The headline does not have to be true but instead it has to describe how the writer wants you to feel. Hence, we have headlines that tug at the heart strings over the head strings.

What does God have to say about sensationalism? In Matthew 24 Jesus yanks on the political leaders in his day. He said they pray in public. They look like clean people on the outside but they are dead on the inside. Jesus tossed them under the bus for their traditions and laws that hurt people. Pontius Pilot said to Jesus “what is truth.” The most interesting part is that Jesus said nothing in reply. When we give up on the truth all hell breaks loose. What could Jesus have said to change this man’s opinion on the truth? He knew it was too late.

Today’s children scan the headlines. Do they read the stories behind the headlines? Common sense says they don’t but maybe they do. It might be more about twitter than reporting. We are conditioned to reading one line. Maybe we glean truth in those words. The other side is writing the news. Much of the local reporting has been done away with. Real investigation has been washed away. All we have left is national headlines to get our attention. If we really reported the truth things might turn upside down. Lawsuits would arise and feelings would get hurt. Maybe Twit in twitter means something.

Using the words epidemic, genocide, massive, and the worst ever get out attention: I get that. To say the moving of a community is genocide diminishes the intensity of the holocaust and Rwanda in 1984. To say “massive” reduces the impact of the 1908 earthquake in San Francisco or Mt St Helens. We need to tell it like it is rather than attach stories to what has been. It might be the worst ever but what happened this time? Who died this time and what became of the fallout. Comparing the past diminishes the results for the people we knew in days gone by.

It’s time we let children lose. A bad headline is a bad headline. Good stories are better than bad ones. Terrible things have happened in the past. We need to honor the dead. New stories have life if we write about it. Making children get it right is a good thing. Preserving the truth of what really happened is on our children’s shoulders. Shouldn’t we make sure they know how to do that properly?

Claire Cain Millar is a New York Times reporter that posted a piece on divorce. She reported that how we report on divorce is wrong. She used facts and reality to sweeten her article. It was a great reporting job that did not grab headlines but rather gave them truth. People like Claire take us into life. With so many headlines what is true? Good reporting helps us know fact from fiction. The headline might be “this generation is faceless” if we continue to report the way we do.

faith comes alive